


The Harrowing Hangover of Halloween Hilarity

by nameless_wanderer



Series: A Spierfeld Halloween [2]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Halloween, M/M, more halloween stuff, more tags later im tired, sequel to the hallowed house of hollow horror, tldr simon and bram trying to figure out if they can actually date
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 00:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16482332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nameless_wanderer/pseuds/nameless_wanderer
Summary: Simon and Bram have a serious talk, and they have to make a serious decision. But what is this decision, and how will it affect them and the people around them? By itself, the story seems resolved, but piece by piece it becomes clear theres much more to it.





	The Harrowing Hangover of Halloween Hilarity

> I. Simon and Bram

Simon could’ve stared at Bram’s sleeping face all morning. Eyes closed, breathing in and out, peaceful. He probably could’ve stared at Bram’s face all day, no matter what it looked like. Even before he’d had a proper crush on him, Simon had noticed him and enjoyed looking at him. Yet he felt like he was seeing a new version of Bram. Simon couldn’t quite tell what it was. Asleep, Bram seemed unbridled by the anxieties of his waking life. Simon wondered if he had ever consciously noticed the tension on Bram’s face that was currently missing. Simon wondered if he had the same tension visible on his face.

Bram’s eyes slowly fluttered open, locking eyes with with Simon for a few moments. Bram sighed as he closed his eyes. “Were you watching me sleep?” he said with a smile.

Simon chuckled. “Well, yes, I kind of was.”

“That’s real creepy, dude. You gotta be careful. You just might give somebody the wrong idea.”

“Or the right idea.”

“What time is it?”

“Early. Too early.”

“The sun is up.”

“Still too early.”

“Simon.” Bram opened his eyes. “It’s morning.”

“...So?” Simon said, confused.

“You said that we should figure out what this is in the morning.”

“I believe I said _maybe_. All I said was we should figure it out later.”

“Simon. Come on.” Simon looked and saw the tension creeping over Bram’s face.

Simon sighed. “I just… I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to lie down here next to you.” Simon began to feel himself blush as he looked away. “I really like you.”

Bram softened a bit. “I really like you, too.”

“And once we actually try to figure out what this is, this becomes…”

“What? Too real for you?” Bram supplied, somewhat defensive.

“Of course my feelings for you are real,” Simon responded, “but discussing it makes the situation too complicated.”

“Well, why does this have to be complicated? We like each other, right?”

“Bram, you know that we can’t do what any other couple would do in this scenario. We can’t act like straight people.”

Bram chuckled slightly. “Thank god for that.” Simon chuckled a bit at this, but tried to compose himself.

“Bram, I’m serious. Us being a couple… it means coming out to our friends, our families… everyone. And who knows how people will treat us at school.”

Bram sighed. “You make a compelling argument for not wanting to discuss it. But I think that’s all the more reason why we have to discuss it.”

“Shit,” Simon whispered.

“Yeah,” Bram replied. It seemed as though he hadn’t realized the severity of the can of worms he’d just opened. “So, uh, what were you thinking?”

Simon sighed. “Well the way I see it, we have a few options. The first being we could just start dating.”

“I do like holding your hand,” Bram said causing Simon to blush. “But you’ve already mentioned the downside of that idea.”

Simon frowned. “Just to clarify, you’re not out to anyone?”

Bram shook his head. “Not a soul. You?”

“Nobody knows, not even Leah.”

“Well that certainly complicates things.”

“Bit of an understatement. Of course—second option—we could date in secret.”

“So all the perks of dating plus the security of not having to tell people we’re gay.”

“Yeah, basically. But don’t forget the sneaking around—”

“Lying to the people we love—”

“And basically never getting to see each other or do… anything.”

“Plus our friends aren’t completely stupid. They’d know that something was different and since they have no boundaries they’d probably ask us right in the middle of school, leaving us in a very awkward situation.”

“Very worst-case-scenario of you, Bram.”

“What else we got?”

“Option three, we accept that there’s something between us that we can’t act on now, but maybe someday we can.”

“That doesn’t sound terrible,” Bram admitted. “We come out on our own terms and then we date. Eventually.” There was a short pause as the two thought about it. “Of course, the ‘eventually’ is the kicker. When do we come out? Do we have to do it soon? What if I’m not ready for my family and friends to know?”

“What if I have to wait too long? What if our feelings have changed by then? What if we’re adults by the time we come out?”

“What if we get jealous, or don’t communicate? All of the awful feelings of being in a relationship without the benefit of the relationship. And you’re saying I’m coming up with the worst case scenarios.” The two didn’t speak for a time, uncertain how to proceed. “Any other ideas?”

“One.” Simon grimaced. “We pretend this never happened. Absolutely nothing changes between us and everything goes back to normal.”

“Wow.” Bram was stunned into silence. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts before responding. “That sounds like the absolute worst option.”

Simon nodded. “I agree. It also sounds like the easiest.”

Bram frowned. “What are you saying?”

Simon cautiously took Bram’s hand in his own. “I don’t want to lose this. I haven’t even had it, I don’t know what this even is. But literally all of these options suck. And if human nature dictates we choose the path of least resistance…”

Bram looked at their intertwined hands. He had liked Simon first, he was sure of it. But now Simon liked him back. They could be together, but there was no way that would work. It was too complicated. And yet the options had been laid out simply and clearly, and he couldn’t seem to find a way around them. He didn’t want to lose Simon before they’d really known each other. He looked back at Simon, a stony expression now on his face.

“Bram… what do we choose?”

> II. Jack and Emily

All seemed normal in the Spier household that morning. The Halloween decorations scattered around the household brought a sense of excitement and fun to the otherwise normal suburban decor. Emily and Jack had been up for some time already, talking about their plans for the weekend. Nora was making pancakes, and based on the smalls emanating from the kitchen, these were not any old average pancakes, but something unique, a Nora specialty. Things might’ve gone on as normal on this average weekend, had the parents not heard the sound of two teenage boys descending the steps.

“Hey, you’re finally up!” Jack jovially said. Simon and Bram stopped in the doorway, looking as though they’d just been caught doing something they shouldn’t have done. Bram looked to Simon.

“Uh, yeah.” Simon muttered. “I was about to take Bram home—”

“Before breakfast?” Emily said, somewhat accusatory. “Nora’s been working so hard and you’re just gonna try to skip out again?” Emily turned to Bram. “You really should stay, Nora’s an amazing chef.”

Bram chuckled. “I know, I had some of her stuff last night.” Bram turned to look at Simon, and Jack noticed his smile quickly fell. “I mean… I guess I could stay for a bite.” Bram looked at Simon, shrugging at Simon’s inscrutable expression. The two shuffled to the table, sitting next to each other but pointedly not looking at each other. Jack and Emily shared a vexed expression before turning back to the two boys.

“So what did you guys do last night?” Jack asked, an inviting expression on his face.

“I told you, Dad, haunted house,” Simon responded, somewhat defensive. Jack pretended not to notice as he chuckled.

“I know that, Si. What did you do there? Bram?” Bram looked up, surprised. Before he could answer, Nora came and set down a plate of pancakes in front of Bram and Simon.

“Thanks, Nora.” Nora smiled warmly at him as she went back to the kitchen. “Um, you know. Just normal stuff. The giant lawn games. Got hot chocolate. Some karaoke.” Bram quickly looked at Simon before quickly looking away. Bram awkwardly fiddled with the pancakes on his plate before putting a bite in his mouth. When he took his first bite, he gave a satisfied moan, getting a chuckle from Emily. He quickly swallowed the pancake to talk. “Nora, this is amazing! What is this?”

Nora chuckled. “Pumpkin spice pancakes with a cinnamon whipped cream,” she said, a little proud. Bram quickly stuffed another forkful in his mouth.

“Karaoke!” Emily said, a little too enthusiastically. “Did Simon take part in that?” She looked over at Simon, trying to hide a disconcerted expression.

Simon shrugged. “A little.”

Jack leaned towards Bram. “When Simon has the right song, he’ll do karaoke all through the night.”

Bram chuckled between bites. “I know.” The parents noticed Simon’s pointed expression, and noticed Bram very clearly ignoring it.

“Have you checked out the corn maze? Simon and Nora used to love that,” Emily innocently asked. Bram coughed, quickly swallowing and gasping for breath. When he looked back down to his plate, he realized there was nothing there.

“I guess I powered through those,” Bram said chuckling. Simon moved to stand up, but Nora quickly came back to the table.

“Don’t worry, I figured you’d want a few more,” Nora said, dumping a few more pancakes on Bram’s plate before taking a seat at the table herself.

“Nora, you are a saint,” Bram quickly replied. Nora practically beamed as he started eating again, slightly slower this time, as if savoring the food.

“But you guys had fun?” Emily asked.

Simon shrugged again. “Yeah it was pretty fun. I guess.”

“I enjoyed it,” Bram quietly added.

“What about the haunted house itself?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, you had mentioned that you weren’t exactly looking forward—” Nora had begun to say to Bram.

“Oh my god, look at the time!” Simon interjected. “Bram, I gotta get you home for that thing, right?”

Bram looked up. “Oh, right. I totally spaced it.” He stood up, stealing one more bite of the pancakes from his plate. “We’d better get going. Nora thank you so much for the pancakes!” He said as Simon rushed the two of them out the door.

“No—” The front door shut. “...Problem.”

The three remaining Spiers sat at the table, not speaking for a few seconds.

“What the hell was all that about?” Jack asked.

“My pancakes are amazing and I’m a saint, that’s all I know,” Nora said, insisting her innocence. She began digging into her meal, leaving Jack and emily to share a silent conversation with each other about what was going on and what they could possibly do to help.

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise, bet you didn't think I'd do this. Well I did... and it's not finished yet. I wanted it to be finished by today, but then... it wasn't. Sorry. There's five more parts to it of varying lengths, I'm gonna try and finish it and upload it soon, and I wanna keep it all one chapter but we'll see. Thank your for leaving kudos and comments, I really appreciate it!


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